Commercial Contracts

  • February 10, 2026

    5th Circ. Says Bank Worker's ERISA Claims Can Be Arbitrated

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday held that a former employee at a Texas-based bank must arbitrate his proposed class claims accusing the bank of failing to invest retirement funds, reversing a lower court's finding that the arbitration clause didn't apply to him because it was added after his employment ended.

  • February 10, 2026

    Valve's Trial Against Accused Patent Troll Begins In Seattle

    Valve Corp. told a Seattle federal jury Tuesday that inventor Leigh Rothschild and his intellectual property firms spent years "harassing" the video game company over patents it was already licensed to use in pursuit of a bigger payout, pressing play on a trial that will test Washington's Patent Troll Prevention Act.

  • February 10, 2026

    Swipe-Fee Class Wants Personal Injury Firm Sanctioned

    A class of merchants in a lengthy antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard is seeking sanctions against a personal injury firm and one of its referral partners, arguing the third-party entities have repeatedly misled would-be class members about the case's settlement and how much recovery they might receive.

  • February 10, 2026

    'What I Like About You' Bandmates Seek End To Royalty Spat

    The founding guitarist of The Romantics asked a federal judge to either appoint a receiver or dissolve the company that manages the "What I Like About You" performers' finances, as his bandmate argued it's time for a judge to put an end to "meritless" self-dealing accusations.

  • February 10, 2026

    Feds Say 50 Cent's Liquor Boss Violated Fraud Plea Deal

    Federal prosecutors said a former executive at rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's liquor brand violated a fraud plea agreement by requesting a sentence of one year in home confinement, arguing he had already agreed to spend more than two years behind bars.

  • February 10, 2026

    Amazon Calls FTC Allegations Of Hidden Documents 'Reckless'

    Amazon.com assailed the Federal Trade Commission for accusing it of using auto-deleting Signal chats and improper privilege claims to hide evidence of rules that created an artificial pricing floor across online retail stores, asking a Washington federal judge to appoint a special master to handle the "inflammatory, close-of-discovery filings."

  • February 10, 2026

    Delaware Justices Bar Damages For Invalid Noncompetes

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a Delaware Chancery Court ruling that barred Fortiline Inc. and its parent, Patriot Supply Holdings Inc., from recovering damages for breaches of noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements that had already been deemed unenforceable.

  • February 10, 2026

    Texas Justices Unsure Appraisal Is Avoidable In $40M Claim

    The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday wanted to know why the owner of a building that allegedly suffered over $40 million worth of damage after extreme flooding should get to avoid an appraisal its insurer demanded, noting that the owner had already agreed to it.

  • February 10, 2026

    NC Justices Told Not To Disturb Lindberg's $122M Penalty

    A group of insurance companies that say convicted billionaire Greg Lindberg is responsible for their "financial ruin" are fighting to keep in place a $122 million contempt order against him, telling North Carolina's highest court there's no compelling reason to review the decision.

  • February 10, 2026

    Astellas Gets $90M From Lupin In Myrbetriq Patent Deal

    Generic-drug maker Lupin Pharmaceuticals has inked a deal to pay $90 million to settle claims that it infringed patents held by rival Astellas Pharma Inc. covering name-brand bladder drug Myrbetriq.

  • February 10, 2026

    Title Insurer Gets Lender's Fraudulent Loan Suit Trimmed

    A North Carolina federal court trimmed a mortgage lender's suit seeking to recoup $540,000 from a title insurer for a loan that a borrower claimed was fraudulent, saying the insurer had no duty to indemnify the lender because the loss fell within an exclusion for third-party fraud.

  • February 09, 2026

    Ex-Morgan Stanley Pro Scorns Key NBA Witness In Fraud Trial

    Counsel for an ex-Morgan Stanley investment adviser accused of defrauding pro athletes out of millions of dollars leaned hard on former NBA player Chandler Parsons in cross-examination after he testified against his onetime friend and go-to money man as the defense sought to discredit one of the government's key witnesses.

  • February 09, 2026

    6th Circ. Revives Drexel's Herbicide Contract Beef With Gowan

    The Sixth Circuit on Monday held that a Tennessee federal court misinterpreted a profit-sharing agreement resolving an herbicide product registration dispute between Drexel Chemical Co. and Gowan Co. LLC, siding with Drexel on when the agreement terminated and reviving Drexel's suit over it.

  • February 09, 2026

    Afni Faces Class Action Over Alleged Misleading Claim Letters

    Debt collector Afni Inc. has been accused of trying to dupe people into paying "unadjudicated" damage demands by sending auto crash claim letters disguised as collection notices, according to a proposed class action that the Illinois-based company removed to Seattle federal court on Friday.

  • February 09, 2026

    Jury Seated For Texas Business Court's First Trial

    The first-ever jury in the Texas Business Court was seated Monday evening, setting the stage for a trial in which an investor seeks to enforce his purported ownership in an oil export terminal project on the Gulf Coast.

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Sides With Forest Service In $33M Ore. Wildfire Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Monday threw out a lawsuit from two Oregon lumber companies that accused the U.S. Forest Service of bungling its response to a 2020 wildfire in the Willamette National Forest, ruling that the agency can't be sued because it was acting within its discretion.

  • February 09, 2026

    Michael Bay Says GM Stole His Cadillac Super Bowl Ad Ideas

    Hollywood blockbuster director Michael Bay has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against General Motors and others in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the auto giant ripped off his ideas for its Cadillac Formula 1 Super Bowl commercial.

  • February 09, 2026

    Colo. Judge Denies Tenant's Bid To Reinstate Airport Lease

    A federal judge declined to reinstate a lease terminated by the city of Pueblo, Colorado, over the construction and management of hangars at the Pueblo Memorial Airport, denying a tenant's request for a preliminary injunction.

  • February 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Comerica's Escape From Investor Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed Comerica's win in an investor dispute led by a pension fund accusing the bank of misleading investors about its oversight of a U.S. Department of the Treasury contract, concluding a California federal judge was right to permanently toss the case for failure to state a claim.

  • February 09, 2026

    Tribal Corp. Says Colorado Consultant Misused Trade Secrets

    An Alaskan tribal corporation is suing a Colorado consultant and her firm, alleging that she used its trade secret information to attempt to lure government contracting clients away by publicly advertising the data and claiming it as her own.

  • February 09, 2026

    Crypto Investor's $16M Case Ousted From Chancery

    The Delaware Chancery Court on Monday dismissed a cryptocurrency investor's lawsuit accusing a group of crypto entities and insiders of engineering a $16 million "pump and dump" scheme, ruling the claims were not properly brought in equity and belong, if anywhere, in the Delaware Superior Court instead.

  • February 09, 2026

    Insurer Fights To Keep Wrongful Death Coverage Suit Alive

    A Liberty Mutual unit should be able to proceed with its suit over coverage for a healthcare company facing eight wrongful death actions, the insurer told a Texas federal court, saying the present action is the only one in which the question of coverage is presently and properly joined.

  • February 09, 2026

    NY Judge OKs $4M Bond While Wind Farm Case Is Appealed

    A New York federal judge has stayed the enforcement of a judgment favoring a Chinese company against Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank in a wind farm dispute as the Vietnamese bank appeals an earlier order, also approving a $4 million bond tendered with OCB's motion to stay.

  • February 09, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's chancellor has rejected a bid for dismissal of a derivative suit accusing Coinbase Global Inc. insiders of massively unloading shares ahead of a steep stock drop, stressing a special litigation committee's failure to meet independence standards.

  • February 09, 2026

    10th Circ. Ends Civil Rights Suit, Sanctions Atty For AI Errors

    A self-represented Maryland attorney could not revive her $15 million racial discrimination suit against Denver-based Frontier Airlines after a Tenth Circuit panel found the district court had not erred in its dismissal, in a ruling that also sanctioned the lawyer for misusing generative artificial intelligence.

Expert Analysis

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • Aerospace And Defense Law: Trends To Follow In 2026

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    Some of the key 2026 developments to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law stem from provisions of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, a push to reform procurement, executive orders that announced Trump administration priorities, the upcoming Artemis space mission and continuing efforts to deploy artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • 2 Rulings Showcase Fuzzy Limits Of 'Related To' Jurisdiction

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    The Fifth and Ninth Circuits recently handed down decisions, in Sanchez Energy and Sawtelle Partners, respectively, reminding practitioners that bankruptcy court jurisdiction over lingering disputes is not guaranteed, regardless of whether confirmation orders contain specific "retention of jurisdiction" language, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O’Connor.

  • 3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.

  • AI Licensing Suit Exhibits Pitfalls Of Vague Contract Terms

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    Fastcase Inc. v. Alexi Technologies, a case in District of Columbia federal court, demonstrates the potential consequences of vaguely drafted contract terms amid unforeseen technological advances, but there is practical guidance parties may employ to mitigate the potential for similar contract disputes, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Navigating Battery Validation Risk In The EV Supply Chain

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    Vehicle electrification has moved battery system supply chains from a background component into the center of the automotive universe — and for legal teams, battery validation is now a driver of contractual disputes, regulatory exposure and even shareholder litigation, say Samuel Madden at Secretariat Advisors and Vanessa Miller at Foley & Lardner.

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